Face Down On The Quidditch Pitch
by NowLeavingReality
Summary: Dylan Worl was homeschooled/apprenticed her entire 16 years, until her mother makes the decision to send her to Hogwarts for her 6th and 7th years. Set in Harry's 3rd year with the main characters in their 6th year. OliverOC. Slight AU. RnR!
1. Of Life And Death

Disclaimer for the whole series: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters other than Dylan and her family and Mrs. Pentstemmon.

* * *

Chapter 1: Of Life and Death

Jennifer Worl was sitting by the window, reading the latest bestselling mystery novel, when a black Mercedes S Class pulled up in front of her house. Two men dressed in odd clothes slid out of the car strode up to the front porch.

Jennifer was so absorbed by her book that she didn't hear the doorbell ring.

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

BANG! went the metal doorknocker, causing the woman to jump in fright, clutching her protruding belly. After calming down a little, Jennifer looked through the peep hole in the door to see two solemn looking men. One had flaming red hair, a gaunt face, and dull green eyes. The other had light brown hair that was cut in a military style, and wore an expression on his face that said, "I really don't want to be here." Jennifer hesitantly opened the door.

"Ma'am, this is Captain Walker Lane from the Naval Command Center in Johnson City. I'm afraid we have some disturbing news about your husband," said the man with brown hair.

Through teary eyes Jennifer replied, "I think I already know. He's dead isn't he? Stephen Worl is dead."

Neither of the men moved. Jennifer burst into tears. Captain Lane handed a letter to her from her late husband. "We believe that this letter was the last thing Stephen wrote before he died," the red haired man explained. The letter was quite short and simple. It read:

My Dearest Jenny,

Times are hard, but the sand is soft. There's no word on You-Know-Who, but he is most likely close by. I miss you and the baby terribly. The Major says our unit might be able to come home at Christmas. I know the baby isn't due for another four months, but the guys and I have been thinking of some baby names. For a boy: William, Grey, Forrest, or Thomas. For a girl: Dylan, Angelina, Lily, Cooper. I can't wait to see both of you when I get off the plane.

Love you from the bottom of my heart,

Stephen Worl

The twenty-six year old, mother-to-be, stood as if frozen by a binding jinx. A small smile crept onto her distraught face as she realised her husband wasn't completely gone from the world. She still had their baby. And in this instant of enlighenment, Jennifer Worl decided that it would be best to raise Stephen's child in his home country of England, so the child would never forget her father's legacy.

* * *

Sixteen Years Later

Jennifer Worl stood at the bottom of the stairs, her tired blue eyes focused on the door of the room in which her daughter was supposed to be getting ready to leave for the school year. Jennifer has a few more wrinkles and her hair had become a little more dull since we last saw her, but she is still the beauty we saw the beast attack.

The lime green door opened to reveal a teenage girl about the age of 16, her arms struggling with a carrier, a satchel, and a school trunk. The girl's red wine, very slightly wavy hair fell down around her chin from the Harpies cap she wore. As she noisily hauled her things down the stairs, her mother couldn't help but think, "She looks so much like her father it's as if the only genes I gave her were the ones that made her female. (A/N: I know it's the X from the father, but just pretend) I hope she makes friends at this new school, Mrs. Pentstemmon can't homeschool her forever, what with her bad knee. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be better for her. Stephen would have loved to see the day when his daughter started at his alma mater."

Through her colour-changing eyes, Dylan Annette Worl noticed her mother staring at her with a sad look and determined that even though she wouldn't see her mum in a while, she needed a social experience and knew it would all work out for the better.

"We had better head off, the train leaves at eleven o'clock. You don't want to miss the train." Mrs. Worl stated. And with those words they both loaded Dylan's belongings into the car and headed off to King's Cross.

Passing through the barrier to Platform 9 3/4 wasn't as difficult as Dylan imagined. Standing before the train Dylan and her mother were amazed at what they saw. Because Dylan was homeschooled, the two had only seen this many magical folk in Diagon Alley and didn't realise how vast the world of magic was until that moment.

"So I guess I'll see you at Christmas," the daughter said as she was about to board the Hogwarts Express. After hearing no reply, Dylan turned around to see her mother looking more depressed than she was at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm sorry honey, but the company wants me to work on their television commercials in Japan during the holidays, so I won't be able to see you until school is over in June. Now, this doesn't mean that you aren't to write me everyday. I'll even use Mrs. Penstemmon's owl to send you a howler if you think of slacking off and not informing me. And don't think I won't young lady. I may not be a witch, but I am still your mother." Jennifer joked, a half smile present on her face. Dylan ran to her mother and embraced her with a hug.

"Bye Mum, I'll miss you a lot. Have fun in Japan."

And with that Dylan Worl finally boarded the train to the greatest adventure of her life.


	2. Of Mr Right And The Wrong About Him

Chapter 2: Of Mr. Right, And The Wrong About Him

After about five minutes of clamboring through the train I finally found an empty compartment, put my trunk up, and let my black kitten named Seren wander about. It was quite peaceful reading a book from my satchel and watching Seren play with a fly.

My mother bought Seren for me when I turned 16 this past summer. At first, I didn't want a cat because my dog had recently died, but I couldn't resist Seren's saphire eyes and black body with a white tipped tail. Mum said the kitten had a gene disorder that stunted her growth, only letting her become a little bigger than a normal 10 week old kitten. I felt sorry for the kitten and quickly changed my mind about cats.

My accomplishment of zen-like peace was short lived as the compartment door slid open to reveal two tall, identica, bright red haired, hazel eyed boys followed by a boy who looked of African descent with dredlocks and black eyes. I was bewildered at their appearance and immediately asked them who they were.

"I'm Fred Weasley," on of the redheads explained, "and this is my twin brother, George, and of course, our accomplice, Lee Jordan."

"We were wondering," began George (I think), "if we could sit here, seeing as this is the only remotely empty compartment?"

"And maybe invite one or two more people?" Lee added.

"Oh, sure I guess. Let me move my things." I replied. I couldn't very well turn them down if there was nowhere else to sit, even though I would have liked to. I am a very shy person around new people, and now might be the time to make some friends, or enemies if this doesn't go well.

While the three were settling down, two more students came into the compartment. An astonishingly handsome boy with toffee coloured eyes and shorter cut chestnut brown hair introduced himself (in a Scottish accent that fitted him almost too well), "Oliver Wood, Gryffindor quidditch captain." The other student, a girl with plaited brown hair and blue eyes smiled warmly at me, most likely glad she wasn't the only girl in here, and said her name was Katie Bell.

"Oi! Red! (I assumed "Red" was me) What did you say you name was again?" Fred (or it could have been George) asked.

"Dylan Worl." I answered automatically.

"That's an interesting name for a girl. I always thought Dylan was a boy's name," said a cold voice from the door. Everyone in the compartment turned towards the voice. A boy about my age, maybe a little older, with horrible teeth, was smirking at me.

I knew I didn't like him from the moment he said, "Even if you do have a boy's name, what's a pretty girl like you doing with these half-bloods, mudbloods, and blood traitors when you could be with me and all my pureblood friends?"

Not a second after the words came from his mouth, Fred, George, Lee, and Oliver charged at him. Apparently only Oliver had the sense not to beat the boy to a bloody pulp, and instead said, "Flint, save it for the pitch. If I catch you anywhere near here for the rest of the trip, I won't be able to be held accountablt for my actions."

"Flint" apparently got the message, but took one more glance at me, winked, and then sauntered off down the hall. My face must have been somewhere between an angry face, a disgusted face, and a sad face because I received three different responses at the same time.

"That was Marcus Flint, pureblood extrodanaire, and Slytherin quidditch captain, it would be best to stay away from him, for your own sake." -Lee

"Ugh, I can't stand him. He always thinks he's God's gift to women." -Katie

"Are you okay? You seem a little depressed about what he said. He didn't insult you, did he? If he did, I'll show him more pain than he'll ever experience." -Fred and George, switching off.

_I guess there's no holding back no holding back now... They seem like they want to be my friends, but what if I get sorted into a different house than they one they are all in?_

**Hey! What's life without taking a few risks? I'm sure they'll still be your friends even if you're in a different house.**

With my mind in battle, I made the neutral decision to tell them only some of the story of my parents.

"Flint saying those things about purebloods and halfbloods kind of strikes deep in my history. My father was a pureblood and when he went to Hogwarts, he was in Ravenclaw. This greatly disappointed his family, who disowned him in his second year. Dumbledore took him under his wing and helped him graduate and become an auror. he hunted many dark witches and wizards, come even his own family. Then he met my mother, an American muggle who believed in the supernatural/magic and moved to America to be with her. The Ministry became upset with him, but found him a job in the muggle Navy in which he could perform magic in order to keep You-Know-Who from spreading his ideas across the ocean. My mother was five months pregnant with me when she was told that my father was killed by You-Know-Who while he was on patrol. My name was a suggestion in the last letter he ever wrote to my mother." I explained.

I didn't tell them my father's real name, the on he had before he met my mother, for I had heard rumours that my real cousin went to Hogwarts. Dumbledore and my mum made an agreement that for my own safety, I was never to mention names other than You-Know-Who's and Dumbledore's when talking to others. I was also to keep as far away as possible from my cousin (if indeed he went to Hogwarts).

There was a silence in the compartment as I finished my story. Thankfully it was broken by Oliver who asked, "So... do you like quidditch?" His eyes wandered up to my Harpies cap, still on my head.

I greatfully sighed inside and went on to explain how much I loved quidditch. Katie's eyes became saucers when I told her my favourite position to play was chaser. I questioned her excitement and she immediately turned to Oliver and said, "Why don't you let Dylan try out for the open chaser position, what with Alicia saying she had to study more this year in order to pass her NEWTs next year. Angelina would be estatic to know that we found a candidate! I'll go tell her now."

Katie said this all extremely fast, I was lucky to catch it. Oliver tried to reason with Katie's rash decision, but it was too late, she was already down the hall. Oliver exhaled loudly and put his head in his hands.

"I forgot all about Alicia quitting. She really wants to be a Ministry of Magic worker. Now I have to redo all my plays I've been working on and schedule tryouts and reschedule practices. Could her decision have come at a worse time?"

It was in that instant Oliver Wood's 98-of-the-time-all-quidditch-captain personality was revealed. Fred, Lee, and George all had the same blank look on their faces as if saying, "I can't believe he's already worked out plays, practices, etc. and ober the summer too. He really is all quidditch, all the time."

My face on the other hand was like this: 00. Looking back on the situation, it seems as though with every potential Mr. Right I've met, there's some major wrong with him too...


	3. Of Nonbelievers and Achievers

Chapter 3: Of Nonbelievers And Achievers

The latter half of the train ride was filled with jokes (thanks to the Weasley Twins and Lee), quidditch stories (I bet you can quess who), and anticipation of what would happen this school year (due to Katie and Alicia, who I met five minutes ago).

Suddenly the train screeched to a halt and it became freezing in the compartment. It was as if the world was suddenly turning emo.

I clutched onto the nearest person, who happened to be George (or maybe it was Fred) and stared, stiff as a board, as a dementor passed down the corridor. A few minutes later the world seemed itself again and the train started going as if nothing had stopped it.

A first year boy went from compartment to compartment saying the dementor was looking for the escapee from Azkaban, Sirius Black. No one in our compartment could believe what they were hearing, and a round of unanswerable questions was started.

Alicia Spinnet, a very pretty blonde girl with green eyes, and former chaser of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, was extremely kind to me during that portion of the ride. I learned that she was of normal intellegence, and in order for her to work in the Ministry of Magic (which was her dream job) she needed to focus on her studies more.

Katie lead Alicia and me to the girls' bathroom to change into our school uniforms. They chatted about who the cutest boys they thought were and other girly topics they couldn't talk about in front of the boys.

From them including me in come of their conversation, I discovered that Katie had a crush on Lee for a while now (I said I thought they would look really cute together) and Alicia had taken a fancy to Roger Davies, a Ravenclaw boy.

"Good," I thought, "They are friends with some people outside their house."

When we walked back to our compartment, I opened the door after hearing, "Come on in." This turned out to be a trick of Fred and George's because when I entered the compartment, Oliver had his shirt off (clearly showing his well defined, but **not** super macho, muscles from quidditch) and Lee burst out laughing when I turned beet red and ran out the door to stop Katie and Alicia, who were about to enter.

"They're... not... ready... yet." I proclaimed, still in shock after scene that just unfolded.

An exotic looking girl walked up to us and started talking to Alicia. I heard her mention "quit" and "quidditch" and "sorry" before she turned to me and introduced herself as Angelina Johnson.

Angelina said that the reason she wasn't sitting with the rest of her fellow Gryffindors was because she was a prefect and had important duties to finish. I perceived her vibe as one of an exteremly organized person who was also incredibly intellegent, and therefore unlike Alicia, could continue with quidditch. When I asked Alicia if she really wanted to play quidditch she replied with, "It was really more of a luxury than an essential part of my goals in life."

After a few more minutes wait, we entered the compartment to find everything normal, except for the innocent looks mirrored on the twins' faces.

"Okay, _what_ did you do this time?" Angelina inquired.

"Nothing other than embarassing Dylan and Wood." Fred replied. I could tell it was Fred now because I noticed a slight differentiation in their eye colour.

I hadn't realised until after Fred's explanation that Oliver's attention was directed out the window and didn't change when Angelina called his name.

The rest of the train ride was quiet, aside from the occasional conversation. Seren was sleeping on my lap, purring contently.

As the train slowed to a stop, the only thing bothering me (more like consuming my mind) was what house I was going to be sorted into. I didn't even gain full awareness of my surroundings until I walked into a gigantic person.

"Hallo Hagrid," Katie cheerfully greeted the behemoth of a man.

"'Ello Katie. Who's this, a new student?"

"Yes, her name is Dylan Worl. She was homeschooled for the past five years."

"Ah! You must be t'one Dumbledore was talking 'bout. 'E told me ta tell ya ta ride in a carriage up ta the castle, where you're ta be sorted into a house." Hagrid then walked away calling, "First years! First years over 'ere."

The carriages were incredible, I didn't know that thestrals could be tamed like regular horses. I voiced my wonder aloud and the group looked at me as if I had three heads.

"What do you mean 'thestrals'? There's nothing pulling the carriage, there never was anything pulling the carriage." Angelina stated matter-of-factly.

I shrugged it off, convinced that they were the crazy ones, not me. Staring at the dark sky splattered with stars, I felt something brush my thigh. It turned out that it was Oliver's cloak. He quickly said sorry and moved a little ways away. I faced upwards again when Lee pointed out dementors standing (floating, if you want to get technical) guard outside the gates to Hogwarts. The mere sight of the castle took my breath away. It was astonishing!

The carriage pulled around a courtyard and stopped to let everyone off. I was about to follow Fred and George into the Great Hall when I was grabbed on the shoulder and spun around to face an older witch with high cheekbones, rimmed glasses, and her hair pulled fiercely into a bun. She reminded me oddly of Mrs. Pentstemmon.

"Dylan Worl?" she asked, her voice expressing her strict personality.

"Yes, that's me." I squeaked out. This woman was even more fierce than Mrs. Pentstemmon.

"Follow me."

On the way to... well wherever she was taking me, she explained the rules of Hogwarts and told me about the different houses. We arrived in a classroom where a ratty old wizard's hat was sitting a top a three-legged stool. It was now or never.

I gently sat upon the rickety stool and Professor McGonagall (she told me her name on the way) placed the moth-eaten hat on my head, after making me take off my Harpies cap. The hat slid down over my eyes and to my surprise, started talking!

"You are an interesting one... Deep history of family in Slytherin... Although father was a Ravenclaw... Intellect, yes... Friendly, yes... either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff would be good for you... But what's this, you seem to have an abundance of power... Maybe Slytherin... Not Slytherin?... Hmm, very tricky you are... It seems though, that your destiny lies in **GRYFFINDOR**!"

I sighed in relief, knowing that I wouldn't have to become rivals with the acquaintances I had recently formed. I couldn't help but wonder about what the silly old hat said about my destiny and "abundance of power."

"Welcome to Gryffindor, Miss Worl. I'm your head of house, so if there is anything you need, come see me." And with that she guided me back to the Great Hall and wished my luck in the school year.

The moment I spotted Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Fred, George, Lee, and Oliver they saw the look on my face and cheered. I had done it. I had finally made friends and was placed in the house I desperately wanted to be in. Exhausted, I collapsed next to Alicia and contemplated the possibilities of new, exciting things while the first years were being sorted.


	4. Of Speeches and Lasting First Impression

(A/N: The beginning parts of this chapter were written by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim to own her words, characters, etc. The only things I own are Dylan and her family and Mrs. Pentstemmon, my side plot, and the lint in my pocket.)

* * *

Chapter 4: Of Speeches and Lasting Impressions

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."

"Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody it to leave the school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises - or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs a foul of the dementors," he said.

Percy Weasley, who was sitting a few seats down from the famous Harry Potter, puffed out his chest again and stared around impressively. Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continured as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"

I jumped as multitudes of food appeared on the plates that were empty a moment ago.

"House elves," Fred and George answered my unspoken question.

To be straight forward, I basically gorged on everything that was within a 3m radius. The next morning I would deeply regret eating so much.

Percy led everyone up to Gryffindor Tower and at the end of the landing, a giant portrait of a fat lady in a frilly pink dress apparently guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked in a higher class voice.

"The new password's 'Fortuna Major'." Percy called out.

The portrait swung forward to let us in. After a quick tour and explanation of Gryffindor Tower, Katie and Alicia led the way to the Girls' Sixth Year room. There were five four-poster beds, each with a trunk at the end of the bed.

I made my way to my assigned bed and looked around the room to find the fifth inhabitant missing, although there was an initialed trunk on the floor. "Who's the fifth person?" I asked no-one in particular.

"Oh, that's Whitney Price, head of the 'Hot Quidditch Guys Fan Club'. Stupid name and horrible club if you ask me." Katie stated.

"No doubt she's trying to impress one of her prey now." Angelina commented.

I was shocked to say the least. First because of Angelina saying something moderately bad about someone other than a Slytherin. And second, that there were fangirls at this school. If there's one thing in the world I hate more than a book that has no plot, it's fan girls. After my mother moved to Great Britain, she began to write teen novels as a hobby to her job as a PR agent. she was published right away and her books quickly became bestsellers. When I was anywhere with my mother, we would be swarmed by teenage girls wanting her picture or autograph. We finally moved to a little less crowded town when I was of school age. I thought I was finished with and sort of fangirl for life. I guess I was wrong...

It was at about ten o'clock, when I was about to go to bed, that I caught my first glimpse of Whitney. She was one of those girls who carry themselves as if they were the queen of the world, expecting everyone to bend to her will. Typical blonde hair, blue eyes (that were surrounded by way too much make-up), and she wore extremely expensive looking robes. If it weren't for the red and gold badge on her cardigan, I would have thought she was a pureblood Slytherin. Although I did suspect she was pureblood in the least.

She seemed to notice my glance and turned on her stilletto heels to face me. Her voice was one of those incredibly annoying posh voices, you know, the ones that seem as their nose is permanently pinched close. "You're the _new girl_ aren't you?" She drawled.

**No, I've been going to school with you for six years and this is the first time you've seen me.**

"Yes, my name is Dylan Worl." I politely said, disguising my prejudicial hatred toward the seemingly fake, fangirl.

"Whitney Price. Surely even you have heard of me. No? Well, you will; even if you do have your nose deep in that book, _you will not_ treat me as if I am less intellegent than you. _You will_ respect me..." She dragged on and on with her "rules" while I merely tuned her out.

After about thirty minutes I interrupted Whitney (she was appalled because apparently it was one of her rules to not interrupt her) and told her "goodnight", which in my world meant "Shut up, I'm tired and I am going to bed where I will dream of lovely things, and "_you will_" **not** be there."


	5. Of Teachers and Teacups

Chapter 5: Of Teachers And Teacups

When the morning sun was about to rise I woke up from a deep sleep with a bewildered look on my face. Whas yesterday just another pleasant dream? Or was it reality? I sighed when I discovered I was in a four-poster bed decorated with red and gold.

So it wasn't a dream. YAY! None of the other girls were awake, so I grabbed my uniform, wand, towel, etc. and tip-toed to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, dressed, and pondered over what to do with my short hair.

Up (as much as it will go), down, teased, straight... I settled for it being in its natural, semi-wavy state, hanging in many layers (the longest reaching just below my chin). No makeup today, I had exploring to do, and I didn't wan't to waste time on something that I don't really care for.

I crept back into the room, careful not to wake any of the girls, grabbed my bookbag and trainers, and headed out the door to explore all the nooks and crannies of the castle. I was enjoying my adventure of walking the halls, when I came across a tabby-ish cat with yellow lamp-like eyes that was surveying the hall as if looking for something or someone.

To be frank, it creeped me out to the point where I ran past the cat, full speed, down the corridor and the stairs; I didn't stop until I found myself utterly lost in the giant maze called a school.

I turned around and tried to retrace my steps, only to find out the stairs had changed. Deciding it would be best to continue on my lost path, I went down a set of stairs and greatfully sighed when I saw the doors of the Great Hall. I checked the time on the giant clock and saw that it was fifteen minutes until eight, perfect time to eat and wait for everyone to congregate in the Great Hall.

"You sure were up early this morning, Dylan. Where did you go?" Angelina's voice called as she walked towards where I was sitting.

"I explored the castle; I didn't know I woke anyone up when I was leaving. Sorry if I woke you." I said apologetically.

"You didn't wake me. I was getting up when you were closing the door. I usually get up really early." She replied.

I noticed then that every part of Angelina's outfit was _perfect_. It looked as if she had spent a lot of time making sure everything was exact. I, on the other hand, had haphazardly thrown on my uniform/robes and hadn't even tied my tie.

The rest of the school waking up was more noticeable now that there were about 40 students eating breakfast. Teachers were also slowly appearing to welcome a nice hot meal to start the day. I took a long look at each of the teachers that were present and decided they were decent.

Well, all except the one with dark greasy hair and a gigantic hook nose. He looked postively discriminatory! His scowl that seemed to be branded on his face gave him the appearance of a royal family member who looked down on everyone. His face, although almost as revolting as Marcus Flint's, looked as if he held a vast number of secrets.

Another teacher sat down next to him, and he sparked my interest even further. His face became more hateful towards the world as this newcomer said something to him. I turned my attention to the newcomer and gasped as realization hit me like a bludger.

"Remus Lupin?!" I whispered, still in shock.

"Yes Dylan, that's Professor Lupin, and I'm Fred Weasley and this is my brother George," Fred said carefully, his voice came from somewhere over my shoulder.

"I know who you are Fred. I don't have amnesia, if that's what you were thinking."

"Oh... I'll be quiet now."

"Hah! That's impossible for you!" Katie exclaimed.

I slowly abandoned my fish-out-of-water face as I remembered Dumbledore's speech from last night. I noticed Professor McGonagall passing out schedules and sincerely hoped I had Defense Against the Dark Arts today, so that I could have a chance to speak with him. Angelina then assured me that they had the same classes everyday.

I wasn't worried about any of my classes not being the ones I chose because I had received almost all O's on my OWLs. Glancing at my schedule and comparing to those around me I discovered that I had:

**9 o'clock: Transfiguration** (with Oliver, Alicia and Lee)

**10 o'clock: Defense Against the Dark Arts** (with everyone)

**11 o'clock: Charms** (with Angelina, Alicia, Fred and George)

**12 o'clock: Lunch**

**1 o'clock: Magical Architecture and Origami Map Folding** (with no one)

**2 o'clock: Potions** (with everyone but Lee and Katie)

**3 o'clock: Study Hall** (with Oliver and Katie)

**4 o'clock: Divination** (with Angelina, Fred, George, and Alicia)

**9 o'clock: Astronomy** (with everyone)

"Dylan, how come you're not taking Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures? You said earlier you received E's in both of those classes." Alicia curiously questioned.

"Oh, um... Let's see how to put this... Okay. My former teacher, Mrs. Pentstemmon, had some nasty little nymphs that were to help her with her daily tasks. They formed a grudge against me when I tried to help Mrs. Pentstemmon deal with her mandrakes. From then on I seemed to have horrible luck with creatures and plants, so this year I decided to leave them behind." I replied.

"Smart. I wish I could do that, but I need to know about magical creatures in order to be accepted into any part of the ministry." Alicia said.

"Well, class is about to start. We better get going." Katie stated and stood up. The group followed suit and we made our way to our different classes.

The transfiguration classroom was larger than I expected, but I guess I didn't take into account the room needed to store the supplies all seven years would be needing the entire year. Professor McGonagall was sitting at a giant desk at the front of the room and on the board were the words, "Please sit in alphabetical order, A at the front and Z at the back."

I hung towards the back with Oliver while Lee and Alicia headed towards the middle. The classroom filled quickly with chaos as everyone tried to find who they sat between. It was during this chaotic ritual of the first day of school (I assumed this happened every year) that I discovered my last name was the last out of everyone else's.

Sitting down next to Oliver, I studied the faces of my classmates. Some were talking, catching up on what happened over the summer, and some were glaring holes in each other. I assumed this behaviour was because of the rift in the houses.

"Settle down please." McGonagall's stern voice pierced the massive cloud of noise and everyone became silent as mice.

"Today we will be turning rats into teacups for a review of last year. Does everyone remember the spell? In case you forgot, which you probably did, it's Artemias Chinea." (A/N: I made that up so don't get mad)

It took me two tries to make my teacup without whiskers, but poor Oliver Wood couldn't manage to make a perfect teacup. His final product was a furry cup with little pink feet that scrambled all over the desk. McGonagall told him to study and practice for homework and to be ready to show his skills in class tomorrow.

After that conversation Oliver turned to me and pleaded to get me to help him. I finally agreed because I wanted to improve my chances of becoming chaser at the upcoming tryouts, even though transfiguration and quidditch are two completely different things.

McGonagall then assigned our homework, which was to read the first chapter of our transfiguration book and be ready to practice any of the spells in the chapter.

(A/N: I was wondering if anyone would write a review because none of my friends will give me feedback on whether this story is even worth writing... Thanks for reading!)


End file.
